Knitting machine



Patented Aug. 27, 1946 KNITTING MACHINE Willard W. Bardsley, Providence, R. I.,

assignor to Wardwell Braiding Machine Company," Central Falls, R. I., a corporation of Maine Application December 28, 1943, Serial No. 515,901

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in knitting machines and particularly to a highspeed machine of this type for applying a knitted, tubular sheath or coverin around a central core such as a wire or other electrical conductor.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting for the jacks which reciprocate the knitting needles in the machine whereof to prevent play and vibration of the needles to insure more eflicient operation of the machine at greatly increased speeds.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bearing construction for the jacks while adapting them to be readily removed from the machine for repair or replacement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bearing construction for steadying the jacks at their upper ends to counteract the effect of centrifugal force and prevent misalinement of the jacks liable to cause vibration of the needles.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the operating mechanism of a knitting machine showing the present improvements applied to use therewith and illustrating certain of the needles at the upper end of their stroke;

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary sectional View showing certain of the needles at the lower end of their stroke;

Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating the manner in which the needles and jacks may be removed for repair or replacement;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the needleretaining ring or collar applied to the slotted needle-cylinder which is shown in section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view of the needle-cylinder taken on line 55 of Fig. 1 and showing the radial arrangement of the jacks; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged part-sectional plan view on line 6-6 of Fig. 1 showing the improved bearing construction for the jacks. V

The present improved knitting machine is designed particularly for use in covering electrical conductors with a cotton insulating sheath which is subsequently coated'with a suitable compound having high dielectric characteristics. For oertain types of conductors the knitted covering or sheath is employed in place of a braided covering as it can be applied at a higher rate of production. 'I'o'secure this rapid rate of production, however, it is necessary that the knitting machine be operated at a much higher speed than ordinary knitters used for producing tubular textile sleeving or the like. In adapting the knitting machine for the present purpose it has 7 ing the base of the machine and adapted to be mounted on a suitable stand or other support. The casing 2 is formed with an opening 3 at its top to provide access to the mechanism contained therein with the opening closed by a cover 4. The casing 2 is also provided with an aperture 5 in its base through which extends a vertical hollow spindle or shaft 8 having an axial bore 9 for the core or conductor feeding to the needles at the top of the machine as they are operated to apply the knitted sheath to the core. An antifriction bearing I0 is supported in a counterbore in the aperture 5 in the base of the casing 2 and a second similar antifriction bearing H is mounted in a recess l2 in the base of the casing at one side of the bearing l0. Journaled in the antifriction bearing l l is a countershaft l3 having its upper end supported in a smaller antifriction bearing l4 mounted in an aperture l5 in the cover 4. the upper end of the aperture I 5 to protect the bearing from dust, lint and other foreign matter.

Keyed to the spindle 8 above the bearing I0 is a gear ii, the teeth of which mesh with those ofa gear I8 fast on the countershaft l3. On the upper end of the countershaft I3 is a smaller gear l9 arranged with its teeth meshing with the teeth of a gear 20 formed integral with a hollow cylindrical member 2| rotating carrier for the jacks 24 and needles 25 to be later described. The cylinder 2| is mounted to rotate on spaced antifriction bearings 26 and 21 surrounding reduced portions of the shaft or spindle 8:

The shaft or spindle 8 constitutes the main driving element for the machine and for this purpose it may be provided with a pulley or gear (not herein shown) at its lower end driven from a motor or other source of power. Rotation of A fiat cover or cap l6 closes which constitutes the '2|. Above this bearing the periphery of ring left atthis point to serve as a one side vwith a Fig; 3 of the drawings, through which the jacks the shaft 8 is transmitted from its gear through the gear l8 to'the countershaft l3 and thence through the gear i9 back through the gear 26 to drive the jack-cylinder 2i. A bushing 28 held in an aperture of the cover 4 serves as a bearing for the mid portion of the cylinder the cylinder 2| ,is slotted vertically to provide a plurality of guid'eways 22 for the jacks 24, there being 12, 14 or any even number of such slots or guideways in accordance with the number of needles employed in the machine.

Fitted to the upper'end of the cylinder 2% is -a disk-like member 30 formed with a tubular ex tension 3| reaching upwardly above the nd of the spindle 8 with its bore forming an extension the sp dle. It will benoted of the axial bore 9 in that the slots 2| are not cut clear through the upper portion of thelatter, an annulus or ring 32'of the metal bebearing for the jacks'24 are retained legs of'the jacks 24. The

'inithe slots or guideways 22 by means of a cylindrical shell or casing 33 fitting closely around'the ylinder; This shell or casing 33 is provided on longitudinal slot 34, shown in '2'4' n'1a'y be removed from the slots 22 in the cylinder 2|, in the manner illustrated in this latter view. That is to say, the shell 33 may be rotated about the cylinderZl to positionthe slot 35 opposite any one of the jacks which it is desired to remove; the slot being of sufficient width to allow the jack to be withdrawn laterally therethrough. The jacks 24 have relatively narrow legs terminating at the bottom in inwardly-directed projections 35 shapedsubstantially like geanteeth and adapted to engage Withannular projections or teeth 35 on one or the other of cam-like rings '31 and 38 called "Wab'blers; it beingnoted that the jacks are of two different 'l'engtltis, the shorter ones engaging with the teeth on the upper wabbler 3! and the longerones engaging with the teeth on the lower wabbler 38. The long and short jacks are arranged alternately around the periphery of the cylinder 2| the manner and for the purpose ,as explained 'hereinafter. The upper wabbler or cam-ring @Iisjournaled on a bailbearing3'9. the inner race 49 of which is free to turn in 'an' inclined recess 4| of a two-part hub 42 secured rotatably with the spindle 8 by means of a key 43. The lower wabbler-rlng 38 is mounted on a similar bearing tilheld in th angular re- .cessof a two-part hub 44 also keyed to the spindle The two parts of'the hubs 42 and 44 form oppositely-inclined cam -faces which act on the 'antifriction bearings 39 to impart an up and d own oscillatory movement to the wabbler-rings 31 and during the rotation of the hubs relatively of the Wabblers. I he hubs 42 and .44 are rotated with the spindle 8 while the wabbler-rings v e a to the frictional engagement between their teeth 36 and the teeth are held non-rotatively due 35 on the jacks :24; these motions being explained more" particularly hereinafter. It will be understood'that the Spindle '8 drives the hubs 42 and 44 to cause them to operate as cams to oscillate the wabbler-r-ings 37 and 38 while the cylinder 2| is, being rotated in the same direction as the spindle through the gears I 1, |8, l9 and 20 but with a'variation in speed between these parts, the cylnder being rotated at a slower speed than that of the spindle. The arrangement of the jacks 24 around. thecylinder 2| and the manner. of their e ationby the wa-bbl s and fl, ssli ht t they are raised and lowered alternately in series around the circumference of the cylinder to impart to the needles 25 connected to the jacks the same alternam rising and lowering motion.

The upper portions of the jacks 24 are inclined inwardly and formed at their ends with enlarged strands have been engaged therein.

The needles 25 are mounted to reciprocate in vertical slots 50 formed in a cylindrical needl carrier 5| which forms an extension of and rotates with the main cylinder 2| carrying th jacks 2.2 in the peri 'heryofthe cylinder 2d. The needle-cylinder 5| is mounted on the tubular extension 3| of the member 30 and keyed rotatively therewith through the means of a pin 52 projecting from the bottom of the cylinder and engaging a hole in the member. The upper end of the'tubular spindle '8 i's-re'duced in diameter and fitted within a bushing 53 in the bore of the member 38.

The radial slots 5|] in the needle-cylinder 5| are relatively deep to accommodate the enlarged socketed heads of therjacks 24 engaged with the loops A6 of the needles25. The upper end of the cylinder 5| is reduced in diameter and at a 'pOiIlt above the ends of the jacks 24, when the latter are in their uppermost position, the cylinder is formed with. an annular slot 59. Seated in the slot 59 is a two-part split ring Bl) formed witha V-shaped' groove 62 in its periphery in which is held a helical spring 6| surrounding the ring to clamp its two sections together in abutting relationship in the slot 59, see Fig. 4. The inner periphery of the ring 60 serves as a bearing for the needles 25 to retain them in the slots 5|] in the needle-cylinder 5|. ,T-he two-part-cohstruction of the ring provides for its removal from the needle-cylinder 5| bys'tretchingthe spring ti and releasing it from the groove 62 in the ring. Upon removal of the bearing ring 50 the needles -25 may be withdrawn from the slots 59 in the 'needle cylinder5l coincidently with the removal of the jacks 24 from the cylinder 2| in the manner previously explained and indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. w

I As one improvement of the'present invention. the jacks 24 are provided with bearing means at their upper ends to resist any tendency for them to spring outwardlyirom'the grooves 50 in the cylinder 5| under the effect of centrifugal force and thereby'cause undue vibration at the upper limit of their throw. As shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, this bearing means comprises a vertical finger 64 projecting downwardly from the socketed upper end of each jack 24 in the manner a as a set-screw 53, shown in Fig. 6, located between adjacent slots 50 Asthe jacks 2 4 play up and down inthe slots 22 and5|| in the cylinders 2| and 5|, respectively, a firm bearing is provided for their upper'ends to prevent them from springing radially outwardly or becoming otherwise mis alined. Through this meansthejacks are caused to reciprocate-with a straight-line motion-and the needles connected to their-upper ends arepret d f o u du ay attheirpoints .oi 0. 1pm:

of set-screws H. 'in number to the number of strands to be knitted tion to eliminate vibration during their reciprocation.

work or other support,-not herein shown, is a cylindrical member 66 formed with a depending hollow stem 67 communicating with a bore in the member. The lower end of the stem 61 is positioned slightly above the flaring open end of the cylindrical member 66 are a plurality of threadguides held in bores in the member by means The thread-guides ID ar equal and are provided at their lower ends with guiding loops or pigtails 12 through which the strands y pass to the needles 25. or other textile material may be supplied from cops orpackages mounted above the knitting head in any suitable arrangement, and usually suitable tension-devices, not herein shown, are

positioned to act on the strands delivering from the supply cops to apply tension thereto as they covered with the knitted sheath. Th capstan and wind-up mechanism may be driven from the countershaft l3 by means of a worm 10 operating through gearing, not shown, in the casing 2. The core may pass either upwardly o'r downwardly through the machine to apply the covering thereto in accordance with the type of tubular fabric to be produced for difierent requirements. v

The essential mechanism of the knittinghead with the present improvements applied thereto having been described in detail, the operation of the machine is explained as follows:

' Assuming that a core such as a wire or other conductor 0, indicated by dash lines in Fig, 1, has been drawn upwardl through the bore in the hollow spindle 8 and continued up through the center of the needle-cylinder 5| and the stem 61 with its end attached to the capstan or other take-up device, the strands y of yarn from the supplies are threaded through the guides 'l2 and fastened to the core between the thimble 69 and the top of the cylinder 5|. Power is applied to rotate the shaft or spindle 8 and the latter will drive through the gears ll, [8, I9 and to rotate the cylinder 2| and thereby the cylinder 5| in the same direction as the spindle. Rotation of the spindle 8 causes the cam-grooves in the hubs 42 and 44 to oscillate the wabbler-rings 31 and 3B in opposite directionsand the motion of the wabblers is transmitted to reciprocate the jacks 24; it being understood that the wabblerrings are prevented from turning with their camhubs by the engagement of the jacks therewith. The reciprocatory motion of the jacks is communicated to the needles 25 to cause the latter to rise and fall in alternate order as they revolve about the core C with the rotation of the cylinder 2|. The reciprocation of the needles 24 eifects the knitting action by causing the hooks to engage with the strands :1 leading through th eyes The strands y of yarn.

machine.

skipped stitches in the fabric.

12' to lntermesh loops of the yarn and form the very rapid rate and it isnecessary to actuate the needles at a speed many times that of the needles in the usual type of circular knitting Therefore, unless the reciprocating parts are controlled in their motions and undue playor back-lash prevented at their connections, rapid vibration may be set up in the needles liable to damage or break them and further cause To prevent such vibration due to misalinement of the jacks. 24 and play or lost motion where their heads connect with the needles 25, the present improvement provides for steadying the motion of the jacks at their upper ends. That i to say, asthe jacks .24 reciprocate vertically in the slots 50 in the cylinder 5| the fingers or beards 64 depending from their heads play up and down within -the ring or collar 65 to thereby restrain them from springing outwardly under the effect of centrifugal force. In this way, the jacks are held to a straight-line motion so that they will be maintained in accurate alinement and their connection with the needles 25 prevented from becoming shackly. Due to this improved bearing construction for the jacks, vibration of the needles is practically eliminated and it'has been demonstrated that the cause of needle breakage and skipped stitches in the fabric is thus removed. Stated another way, with the present improvements applied to the machine it can be operated at much higher speeds than ordinary knitting machines without damage to the needles and with a material reduction in skipped stitches and faults in the knitted fabric.

Heretofore, in knitting machines of the present type it has been a more or less common practice to remove the needles from the machine by springing the upper ends of the jacks outwardly after they have been raised to the upper end of their stroke. This practice is objectionable since the jacks frequently become bent and misalined and to overcome this difiiculty the present improvement provides for the removal of the needles with the jacks without springing or bending the latter. To remove the needles when they become worn or broken the split ring 60 is first removed from the cylinder 5| by releasing the spring 6| and separating the parts of the ring. The shell or casing 33 is then rotated on the cylinder 2| to register its slot 34, see Fig. 3, with any one of the jacks 24 after which the jack may be withdrawn through the slot and the needle disconnected from its upper end or head. Broken or damaged needles may be discarded and replaced by new ones by simply inserting the needle in its proper slot in the cylinder 5| and replacing the split ring 60 in the annular slot 59 with the spring 6| stretched around its periphery in the groov 62. The jack 24'is then inserted through the slot 34.

in the casing 33 and connected tothe needle 25" by engaging its loop 43 in the socket 45 of the jack while the-needle is raised above th limit of its normal stroke. The jack 24 is placed in the slots 22 and 5a of the cylinders 2| and 5| with its finger or heard 64 in engagement with the interior periphery of the bearing collar 65 and the teeth 35 at the lower end of the jack are engaged with the teeth 36 on the appropriate wabblerring 31 or 38. The cylindrical shell or casing 33 is then rotated suificiently to locate its slot 34 between tWo of the jacks and the machine is ready to operate again.

It will beobserved from the foregoing :specification that thepresent invention'provide's an 7 improved bearing construction forsteadyingthe jacks and controlling their reciprocating motion to prevent misalinement thereof'and play and back-lash at their connections with the needles. The improvement thus prevents vibration and improper timing of the operation of the needles liable to cause damage thereto and fault in the knitted covering or sheath applied to the core. In this way the improvement provides for high "speed operation of the knitting head to materially increase the rate of "production and insure the application of a more perfect cover-ing to the core or conductor. I r

I ,While the improvements are herein illustrated and described as embodied in a preferred form d construction, it is to be understood that modifications may be made in the structure and arrangement of the mechanism without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. "Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

V 1; In a knittingomachine, the combination of a needle-cylinder, knitting needles reciprocable axially of the cylinder, jacks connected to reciprocate the needles, means for reciprocating the jacks, bearing means projecting vertically from the upper ends of the jacks and offset radially inward therefrom, and a collar surrounding the cylinder and engaged by said bearing means on the jacks for preventing them from springing radially outward under the effect of centrifugal force.

T2. In a' knitting machine, a needle-cylinder having a plurality of axially-extending slots, knittin needles reciprocable'in said slots, jacks engaging the needles and formed with hearing portions projecting from their upper ends and offset radially inward'lfrom themain portions of the jacks, a bearing ring surrounding the cylinde'r with its inner periphery engaging the bearing portions of the jacks to prevent their upper ends from springing outwardly, and means for reciprocating the .J'acks to transmit their motion .t'o'the needles. r 3. In a knitting machine, the combination of a needle-cylinder formed with a, plurality of lon- ,gitudinal slots, knittin needles 'reciprocable'in said slots, jacks connected to the needles and slidable in said slots, said -jacks fo'rmed'with vertical extensions projecting downwardly from their upper ends and onset radially inward from their main portions, an annular bearing'surrounding the cylinder with its 'i-nterior' surface engaging the extensions on the jacks to control their motion, and means .for reciprocating the jacks to transmittheir motion to the needles.

4. In a knitting machine, .a rotary cylinder the slots in its mainportiomneedles :sl'id'able in the slots of the extension and provided with means engaging the sockets the heads of the jacks, a collar surrounding the educed extension of the cylinder, projections depending from the headsof the jacks in engagement with the inner periphery of the collar for controlling the motion of the jacks and preventing them from springing radially outward at their upper ends, and means within the cylinder for reciprocating the jacks to communicate their motion to the needles. I

5. In a knitting machine, the combination of a central hollow spindle, a cylinder rotatable about the axis of the spindle and formed with a plurality of longitudinal slots in its periphery, said'cylinder having an extension of lesser diameter projecting thereabove and formed with slots in alinement with the slots :in its main portion, needles sli-dable inothe slots in the cylinder extension and provided with abutments at their lower ends, jacks slidable in the slots in the main cylinder and formed with inwardly-inclined upper ends terminating in socketed heads engaged with the abutments on the needles, said heads of the jacks provided with downwardly-projecting fingers, a bearing collar surrounding the cylinder extension enclosing the slots therein with the fingers 0n the jacks engaging the inner periphery of said collar, cam-means on the spindle engaging the jacks to reciprocate the latter, means to rotatethe spindle, and means to r0- tate the cylinder therefrom.

6. In a knitting machine, a rotary cylinder formed with a plurality of vertical slots, jacks having legs slidable in saidslots with their upper portions inclined inwardly toward the axis of said cylinder and socketed heads at their upper ends,

the main portion of the cylinder and formed with, r

upper extensions inclined inwardly from the V61? tical logs, the upper ends of the jacks being engageable with the needles and formed with vertically projecting fingers slidable in the slots in the reduced extension of the cylinder, and a bearing collar surrounding said reduced extension of the cylinder and engaging the fingers on the jacks to prevent the latter from springing radially outward at their upper ends. 7

3. An improved jack for knitting machines comprising a vertical leg' having its upper portion inclined at an angle to the vertical and formed with a'socketed head, and a relatively jack and adapted to engage an internal bearing on'the knitting machine; i

WILLARD W. BARDSLEY. 

